All of the west coast bassoonists included the proper speaker key as part of their standard fingering for the notes at the top of the bass staff. Surprised by their efforts and greatly impressed with the cleanliness and accuracy of their attacks in this treacherous register, Herzberg described his epiphany.
As I began to record, I was somewhat surprised to see, as well as hear; the bassoonists make extensive and consistent use of the speaker keys. What fascinated me was that they never would play A, Bb, B natural, C and D in the middle register without simultaneously using the A speaker key for A, the high C key for Bb, for B natural, and for C, and the high D key for D.
To add to my amazement, they had no difficulties with technical passages.
Their left thumbs were as agile as any other finger on their hands! They certainly were not “thumb-tied.”88
Several years later he had occasion to work with Frederick Moritz, then principal bassoon of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Moritz commented on the problem Herzberg was having cracking his attacks on A and B. Although his initial reaction was to deny the problem, upon closer inspection he noticed the “crack” in the sound. “After closely listening to my playing, the light began to dawn. He was right! The end of thirty years of innocence, ignorance, neglect, and denial was at hand!”89 What Herzberg had been taking for a normal attack on the notes in the middle register included an extraneous noise that was not acceptable. Diligent effort was needed to add the appropriate speaker key for each of the troublesome notes in the middle register. Successful incorporation of the technique evoked the following revelation:
88 Herzberg, “Years of Ignorance,” 55.
89 Herzberg, “Years of Ignorance,” 56.
As my ability to use the speaker keys increased, I found that I had
developed security on any attack or slur at any dynamic in or to the middle register without making my reeds pay for it. The window of opportunity to attack and slur to the middle register opened wide! I became able to execute slurs cleanly, and attack the critical notes we are speaking of with assurance and with no hesitation or trepidation. . . . My scope of dynamics was enlarged because there was no danger in slurs, and no need to be cautious with attacks on notes in the middle register.90
Tone: Tastes, Opinions, and Variations
In an email to Matthew Harvell in August of 2001 Herzberg described his concepts regarding a bassoonist’s tone. Herzberg’s philosophy was that the subject of bassoon tone could not be isolated because it was only one of the many integral parts of bassoon playing and study. He explained that he often asked his students to describe and define beauty and a beautiful tone; their answers were never to his satisfaction. He quoted a former student, in high school at the time of the encounter, who admitted to using his tone to cover up for a lack of dynamic range and faulty intonation. When Herzberg pointed out the deficiencies the student replied, “I know, Mr. Herzberg, but my tone always gets me through.”91 Herzberg went on to explain additional criteria equally if not more important than tone. In his list of criteria, intonation was primary and must be agreed upon by any group of players if they are to play in tune. Response was
included as Herzberg commented, “Without it we cannot play at the proper moment with
90 Herzberg, “Years of Ignorance,” 56.
91Herzberg, email to Matthew Harvell, 20 August 2001, (TS, author’s personal archive, Potsdam, NY). The unnamed student went on to study with Herzberg at USC, where he learned that tone was but one of the criteria for a competent bassoonist.
the dynamic required.”92 His long tone exercises were developed specifically to address those crucial elements.93
There is no universally accepted standard for tone quality. Musical parameters can be scientifically measured and quantified with tools; the metronome (beat) can be used to measure response, a decibel meter measures loudness, and a tuner can measure intonation. There is no tool to measure tone quality. Therefore, according to Herzberg, criteria for tone quality cannot be established. He used the following analogy to make his point: “There can be no dictator who decrees the definition of a beautiful tone any more than there is one who can tell you what seasoning to use and how food must taste in your mouth.”94 He continued by explaining that tone was literally a matter of taste and tastes vary. Therefore, a fine tone did not have to adhere to any single concept. He appreciated both mellow and bright tones. His favorite tone was that created by Leonard Sharrow.
He described the tone as neutral – neither bright nor dark, but with a very lively attractive vibrato. The email to Harvell included a lengthy quote by bassoonist Archie Camden.95 Camden, as well as others, believed vibrato should not be used in music of the classical period. Although Herzberg did not fully agree with that idea, he did believe a good bassoon tone had to be beautiful even without vibrato.96
92 Herzberg, email to Harvell.
93 Herzberg, email to Harvell.
94 Herzberg, email to Harvell.
95Archie Camden, Bassoon Technique, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1962). The quote can be found at the beginning of the chapter titled “Vibrato, Rubato, and Bad Habits.”
96 Herzberg, email to Harvell.
Continuing to tackle the difficult topic of bassoon tone, specifically what would help or hinder one’s tone, he wrote another email. In it he described how his interactions with former Philadelphia Orchestra bassoonist Walter Guetter (1895-1937) influenced his philosophy of tone quality. On one occasion Mr. Guetter played Herzberg’s set up, his reed, bocal, and instrument. Herzberg was surprised to hear that even with completely different equipment Guetter sounded like himself; there was no appreciable difference in tone quality. He determined that tone must be more closely related to the unique qualities of the performer rather than to the dimensions or scrape of the reed, or the instrument. A person’s tone is the result of many influences including thickness of the lips, formation of the teeth, size of the mouth cavity and throat, and the individual’s air pressure.
Therefore, since individual tone qualities depended on many individual characteristics, external and internal, there could not be a formula which would allow duplication of a person’s tone.97
Vibrato
Bassoonist Leonard Sharrow taught Herzberg to create vibrato. He recalled, “I admired his tone quality to the extent that I insisted on knowing how he made his vibrato.
I insisted!”98 Herzberg demonstrated the technique by blowing short puffs of air and described it as being “like whistling on a long note.”99 The trick was to then speed it up.
97 Herzberg, “Tone, Moennig, and Guetter,” IDRS list-serve (TS, author’s personal archive, Potsdam, NY).
98 Herzberg, interview by author, January 12, 2007, Encino, CA, interview 3, (recording and transcript, author’s personal archive, Potsdam, NY).
99 Herzberg, interview 3.
Sharrow told Herzberg he would know he had learned the technique when he didn’t have to make an effort to do it anymore. Herzberg admitted to practicing his new vibrato for hours down in the furnace room of his apartment building, so as not to disturb anyone, until he felt comfortable with the technique.100
After many years of playing Herzberg determined that vibrato depended on many factors.
One very important factor is the resistance you are blowing against. The higher the resistance the less the undulations are, and justifiably so. In the low register, where there is no/very little resistance, the vibrato is slower which is natural. And the higher you went with resistance the vibrato becomes much more subtle. I also involve my reeds with it too because resistance also has to do with reeds.101
Some students came to Herzberg with what he called a natural vibrato.
I’ve had a new student come in to SC, sit down and play with a beautiful vibrato and not know what they were doing. And if they don’t know what they’re doing I’ll be darned if I’m going to tell them because it’s just beautiful. So, there is what one might call a, for want of better words, natural vibrato.102
Herzberg worked to determine how this natural vibrato was being produced by observing the student’s face and neck closely. He felt the student’s throat and jaw while they were playing but was never able to discover the source of the vibrations.103
Creation of vibrato using the lips or jaw was also acceptable to Herzberg if it was well done.
If it was nice I would never change it. Now my authority for that is Maurice Allard who gave a lecture in Canada many years ago. I wasn’t at the lecture, but I did read about it. And Maurice Allard says “of course the only vibrato is a lip vibrato.”104 So I became far more liberal about vibrato.105
However, if a student came to him with a “nanny goat” vibrato, one that was very fast and narrow, he felt he had to get rid of it. He did this by having the student play long tones without vibrato until the offending wobble disappeared.106
This final bit of advice was offered to the author most adamantly.
If you come upon a student who is really a beginner and starts playing for you with a lovely vibrato, SHUT UP about it because it’s a gift. I don’t know how they do it. I struggled with vibrato that I wanted all my life.
But, there were times when it would just come right and it pleased me no end.107
Use of the Tuner and Metronome
In March of 1997 Herzberg offered the following comment, “In my opinion tuners combined with the metronome are essential tools in the pursuit of the many skills
104 Herzberg, interview 3.
105 Herzberg, interview 3.
106 This type of rapid vibrato was the accepted norm before the 1980s. Herzberg was careful not to offend a student who came to him with an offensive vibrato, knowing the student had probably learned it from one of his peers. He didn’t mention vibrato but would instead have the student begin with long tones with no vibrato and then introduced the air stream vibrato.
107 Herzberg, interview 3.
and insights necessary to maintain and improve one’s abilities on the bassoon.”108 He used the tuner to develop an acute awareness of the pitch tendencies for each note under any condition of dynamic or articulation. It was not his goal to play “perfectly in tune,”
but rather to be so intimate with the tendency of each note so as to be able to adjust accurately for any situation.109
The tuner and metronome were always to be used for Herzberg’s long tone exercises.
When you combine a metronome with the long tone practice, it introduces an essential impersonal discipline to the exercise. In working on long tones you should not just play when you want to, at the dynamics you want to, without checking on your intonation.110
The metronome creates the “command,” when to produce the dynamic requested, and the tuner analyzes the note upon the instant of attack, while sustaining, and at the release.
The tuner is used to analyze pitch during a crescendo or diminuendo, or in a series of articulations. The goal was to learn and create a mental catalog of how each note reacted to every articulation and dynamic.111
A tuner was used to train the embouchure and the ear in order to learn to play accurately without the tuner. Herzberg noted a popular tendency to discount the
108 Herzberg, “The Use of the Tuner,” IDRS list-serve, March 1997, (TS, author’s personal archive, Potsdam, NY).
109 Herzberg, “Use of the Tuner.”
110 Herzberg, “Use of the Tuner.”
111 Herzberg, “Use of the Tuner.”
intonation of a particular note in favor of its most resonant placement. He used middle C as an example.
I have found that a flat middle C can be more resonant than its proper intonation. Adopting the tone that produces the most resonance rather than its correct intonation is a fatal preference, and can lead to the habit of disregarding intonation in favor of “resonance.” I know of a case where a fine bassoonist insists on playing his Bb in the middle register on the flat side because it “sounds better,” and he insists that others adjust to it.112
A tuner “will keep one from making that unacceptable choice.”113 He continued, “You must become accustomed to the “sound” of good intonation and practice accordingly.
The resonance you want can be safely attained by other methods while keeping the intonation within bounds.”114
Herzberg’s philosophy of teaching with regard to use of the tuner was summarized during an interview with the author.
Recently, in a conversation with one of my former pupils who is in one of the major symphonies, he remarked that during their studies with me, I kept my students honest. I do have a great deal of affection for my students, but I don’t trust them without checking. I have found that it requires attention to their assignments, a constant listening to their practice of the fundamentals, and use of many “tools” to develop integrity in their playing. One of the most important teaching tools, in my opinion, is the tuner.115
112 Herzberg, “Use of the Tuner.”
113 Herzberg, “Use of the Tuner.”
114 Herzberg, “Use of the Tuner.”
115 Herzberg, “Use of the Tuner.”
Equipment and Reeds
Every performer should have mechanical knowledge of his instrument and be adept at basic skills of instrument repair. A bassoonist should constantly be searching for better equipment, including instruments, bocals and reeds. Frustration on the bassoon is often traceable to difficulties with equipment, whether it is a leaking instrument, a poor quality bocal, or an inadequate reed. Reeds are most often the source of any problem that may arise. Herzberg explained, “Having good reeds at hand requires that we make large quantities; most cane is unpredictable, and there is safety only in numbers.”116
Selecting a Bocal
Herzberg developed a rigorous procedure for testing bocals.117 He preferred to play on the best equipment available and was constantly trying new bocals in order to find the best match for his bassoon. He described his obsession, “Any time anyone had a bocal for sale I tried it, and if I liked it I bought it, regardless of whether I needed a bocal or not.”118 Regarding the procedure he explained, “The test must be simple, it must be convincing, and it must be definitive.”119
There were several rules to be followed. The first rule was that any identifying marks, letters, numbers, or brand name had to be covered. Secondly, the performer
116 Herzberg, “The Study of Bassoon.”
117 Herzberg wrote notes describing the philosophy behind the procedure as well as the steps involved. These notes were given to the author with the express intent that they be used in this document.
118 Herzberg, “Bocal Test 1” IDRS list-serve, (TS, author’s personal archive, Potsdam, NY).
119 Herzberg, “Bocal Test 1.”
himself was to be the primary and ultimate person making the decision. Herzberg explained, “No friend, spouse, colleague, conductor, or any other listener should indicate approval or disapproval while the test is proceeding.”120 He preferred the test to be done without an audience of any kind. The bassoonist was to use the bocal he was currently playing on as a standard for comparison. The same notes should be the test passage for each bocal being tried. The test should be played immediately on each bocal without any additional notes or prior attempts whatsoever.121
The procedure Herzberg described worked whether testing one bocal or several.
When testing bocals the player should compare the first bocal to be tested with the bocal he is accustomed to playing and whose qualities he already knows. According to
Herzberg this would allow the bocal being tested to exhibit its own qualities since the player could neither alter nor temper them as he played. The test between two bocals should be repeated only once if needed. Repeated playing on the trial bocal will dilute the objectivity of the test. As the player becomes more familiar with the new bocal he will try to color its qualities to fit his tastes. The trial bocal must speak for itself without influence from the player. In Herzberg’s words, “The differences can be stark and the qualities of the better bocal will be apparent. So will the lesser qualities of each.”122 The player should then select the better of the two bocals and set the lesser one aside. The player then selects the next bocal to be tested; comparing it to the better bocal from the
120 Herzberg, “Bocal Test 1.”
121 Herzberg, “Bocal Test 1.”
122 Herzberg, “Bocal Test 1.”
first test. The player should use exactly the same notes when testing the second pair of bocals as was used in the first test. At the end of the second test the player must choose the better of the two bocals and again set the lesser one aside. The third test would be between a new bocal and the better of the two bocals from test number two. This process can theoretically be continued indefinitely. However the player should realize that at some point his concentration and interest will begin to diminish. The number of bocals that can be tested successfully in a given period will vary based on the individual player.123
Certain notes and passages were used when conducting bocal trials. Herzberg preferred to use a simple arpeggio encompassing the entire range of the instrument. He chose to play a Bb major arpeggio starting on low Bb, going up to high D, and returning to low Bb. His instructions included the following information: “The arpeggio is to be slurred as far as one can go in one breath, then taking a breath and continuing. The dynamic should be mezzo-forte.”124 He chose the Bb arpeggio because it could be played easily and from memory, thus avoiding the distraction of having to read notes from a page. Herzberg realized that a complicated passage would require the player to focus on notes rather than the bocal’s performance. By concentrating on the bocal’s tendencies the player could determine whether it helped or hindered performance compared to the known tendencies of his current bocal.125
123 Herzberg, “Bocal Test 1.”
124 Herzberg, “Bocal Test 2,” (TS, Herzberg’s notes from email to IDRS list-serve, author’s personal archive, Potsdam, NY).
125
When describing his procedure Herzberg cautioned that the player be sure to make a subtle crescendo while ascending to the tenor register, Bb at the top of the staff to the F immediately above, is full bodied with no diminuendo. The player should pay close attention to the pitch of the tenor Bb as it is often sharp in a crescendo or when
articulated. The bocal is a good one if it resists those tendencies. The D just above the
articulated. The bocal is a good one if it resists those tendencies. The D just above the